Board prioritizes PFAS, disinfection byproducts, metals and on-site reuse rules; adopts item 3 resolution

The State Water Resources Control Board on Feb. 19 reviewed the Division of Drinking Water’s proposed regulatory priorities for the coming year and adopted a resolution formalizing those priorities by roll-call vote.

Division staff told the board PFAS regulation — both an initial phase to adopt federal requirements for primacy and a second, more California‑specific phase possibly relying on treatment‑technique approaches — is the single top priority for the division in 2025.

“PFAS is our top priority and primary focus for this year,” said the division presenter (Division of Drinking Water staff). Staff described a two‑stage approach: stage 1 to mirror federal requirements and attain primacy for the federal PFAS rule, and stage 2 to consider California‑specific approaches such as use of sentinel indicator compounds or treatment‑technique requirements where numeric MCLs are impractical for large PFAS subclasses.

Staff also outlined planned work on a range of other priorities: disinfection byproducts (including total trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids), arsenic, NDMA (a nitrosamine disinfection byproduct), styrene, cadmium and mercury MCL revisions, revisions to detection limits for reporting (DLRs) for metals, and regulations for on‑site treated nonpotable water uses. The division described ongoing work on notification and response levels for manganese and cyanotoxins, state primacy package work with U.S. EPA, and a future financial‑assurance rulemaking for small systems.

Staff said PFAS monitoring and method development remain active. The division has issued monitoring orders in prior years, has expanded monitoring for disadvantaged communities under a 2023 budget allocation, and plans a statewide monitoring order to capture PFAS occurrence across all public water systems (including transient noncommunity systems excluded from federal rulemaking). The division also said it will seek additional public health goals and advance lab method validation for broad‑spectrum measures such as absorbable organic fluorine (AOF) and for specific ultra‑short chain analytes.

On other priorities, staff noted new or revised OEHHA public health goals for trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids and a need to reassess MCLs and DLRs to close gaps between health goals and what current laboratory reporting reliably provides. For metals, the division plans to propose DLR changes in the spring and to pair MCL reviews for cadmium and mercury because of similar health effects and treatment technology considerations.

The division also previewed work on the lead and copper rule packages, noting the federal long‑term rule changes and recent “improvements” rule and the potential need to revise California’s primacy package. Staff recommended updating the regulations that specify electronic reporting formats for laboratory results to match current federal data integrity requirements and the division’s modernized data intake system; a related emergency regulatory path is permitted under a 2022 statutory change.

Board discussion emphasized public communication, the scale of the division’s workload and the need to sequence rulemakings with realistic staffing. Multiple board members urged clarity for the public about the safety of drinking water generally while acknowledging new and emerging contaminants require attention.

Votes at a glance

- Adoption of board meeting minutes (Feb. 4): Motion and second recorded; roll‑call recorded ayes from board members as called; minutes adopted. (Mover/second: not specified in transcript; roll‑call recorded affirmative votes during the meeting.)

- Item 3 — Resolution adopting the Division of Drinking Water’s regulatory priorities (with change sheet No. 2): Adopted by roll‑call vote. Roll‑call recorded Board member McGuire: aye; Board member Morgan: aye; Board member Firestone: aye; Vice Chair Doreen D'Adamo: aye. (Mover: Board member not specified in transcript; second: not specified.)

What happens next: staff said they will publish draft rule texts, hold public comment periods, and convene workshops and hearings as the rulemaking packages proceed. The division plans to issue a draft statewide PFAS monitoring order for public comment in the latter half of 2025 and target DLR revisions for metals this spring to collect better data for MCL reviews.

Why it matters: PFAS, disinfection byproducts, arsenic and other priorities identified by the division have direct implications for public‑health protections, monitoring costs, laboratory capacity and treatment investments for water systems across California. The division flagged that many existing MCLs remain above OEHHA public health goals and that lowering those limits requires assessing lab capability, treatment feasibility and economic impacts.